Module Overview for the Week of March 18: Recommendation Report, Part 3

Overview

During this third week of working on your Recommendation Report, you should spend your time writing, aiming to have a complete rough draft by the end of the week (3/22). At the end of this series of four modules, you will understand more about the kinds of problems and decisions that recommendation reports are intended to address.  

Early Access to the Week’s Activities

Because of my scheduled knee surgery (see below), most of the activities for the week are available starting Thursday, March 14. You do not need to begin the work early. I am simply setting everything up before the surgery to ensure it is available on time.

This early access does NOT include the Daily Discussion Posts, which will publish on the specific days as usual. Dates are included below in the Readings section..

Unavailable From Thursday, March 14 through Monday, March 18

I will be unavailable from Thursday, March 14 through Monday, March 18. I am having surgery on Friday, March 15 to repair a ruptured quadriceps tendon. While I am unavailable, I will not reply to messages or grade work in Canvas.

I will be back online Tuesday, March 19. If something changes, Dr. Quinn Warnick will update you on my situation.

Objectives for this Module

After completing this module, you will be able to

• Identify and define a problem related to the field of technical writing (or another specific problem according to your assignment’s directions) and review research articles related to this problem. (CLO 2)
• Generalize approaches to the problem from the literature and draw conclusions about the effectiveness and usefulness of those approaches. (CLO 3)
• Choose the most appropriate approach(es) for addressing the problem researched. (CLO 1)
• Produce a recommendation report that details the problem, evidence for solving the problem, and a specific recommendation for solving the problem. This includes describing how to implement the proposed solution. (CLO 4, 6)

Note that you can find the full text of the Course Learning Objectives on the Syllabus.

Readings for the Week of March 18

This material introduces concepts you will need to successfully apply the objectives stated above.

1. Review information in Markel & Selber as needed
2. Daily Discussion Posts (DDPs)
   • #WeekendWatch: Genre Analysis Process (available 3/9)
   • #WeekendWatch: Adding Images to Your Text (available 3/17)
   • #TuesdayTutorial: Ethical Use of Text, Images, and Other Media (available 3/19)
   • #WednesdayWrite: There Are Lots of Bad Ideas About Writing (available 3/20)
   • #ThursdayThought: Overused Words (available 3/21)
   • #FridayFact: Informative Headings Help Readers (available 3/22)

Activities for the Week of March 18

Daily Discussion Posts Activities
(100 minutes—6 posts @ ~15 minutes each plus self-assessment @ ~10 minutes)

• Contribute to any or all of the following Daily Discussion Posts (DDPs) in Canvas)
  • • #WeekendWatch: Genre Analysis Process (available 3/9)
    • #WeekendWatch: Adding Images to Your Text (available 3/17)
    • #TuesdayTutorial: Ethical Use of Text, Images, and Other Media (available 3/19)
    • #WednesdayWrite: There Are Lots of Bad Ideas About Writing (available 3/20)
    • #ThursdayThought: Overused Words (available 3/21)
    • #FridayFact: Informative Headings Help Readers (available 3/22)
• Complete the DDP Self-Assessment for the Week of 03/18 to report the work you did and record your score (100 points). Be sure to read the self-assessment at the beginning of the week so that you understand the expectations.

Writing Activities
(~6 hours, including time to research and write)

• Complete the any or all of the following Major Writing Project activities (600 points total).
  • These activities contribute to the Recommendation Report.
    • Complete a Genre Analysis Form (100 points)
    • Create an Illustration or Graphic for your Report (100 points)
    • Compose a Complete Rough Draft (300 points)
    • Check for Concise Phrasing (100 points)

• Complete the Writing Activities Self-Assessment for the Week of 03/18  to report the work you did (other than the rough draft) and record your score. I will grade your Rough Draft submission, according to the expectations listed in the assignment.

Extra Activities
(As desired, time for the extra activities)

• Participate in the extra activities, if desired:
  • Analyzing an Executive Summary (25 points)
  • Recommendations in a Video (25 points)
• Ask any questions about the course in the General Q and A Discussion (0 points) in Canvas.
  • Check the General Q and A Discussion for answers before posting.
  • Asking a question is not required. Use the Inbox tool in Canvas for questions about grades or personal information that should not be shared with the class.

Photo credit: wocintech (microsoft) - 91 by WOCinTech Chat on Flickr Links to an external site., used under a CC-BY 2.0 license.